A Canadian expert has claimed that the US Military and the State Department were given advance tsunami warning and America’s Navy base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean was notified but the information was not passed on to the countries that bore the brunt of the disaster.

Uh, what, pray tell, makes a land-locked university professor in Ottawa, Canada an "expert" on anything pertaining to the US government, much less the US military and State Departments?

It's a bitter irony to me to see that university professors apparently don't know when they are acting out as idiots and laughing-stocks for the sake of drawing attention to themselves...;) I mean, what the US did was to mobilize the *government controlled* shipping in the immediate area to render aid. Why? Two reasons I can think of that apparently this self-proclaimed "expert" could not:

*1) US military shipping was already in the area and could convey supplies and aid very fast compared to mobilizing commercial shipping and launching it from the US. And of course, every college professor should know that aid packages are the same whether conveyed on military shipping or by way of commercial merchant marine. Speed, not the method of shipment, is what counts in a situation like this.

*2) The US government doesn't have any authority or control over commercial merchant marine shipping, and would have to contract with commercial ship owners to use their shipsto render the same aid. OTOH, the President as Commander-in-Chief has direct control over military craft around the world and can order them into action immediately --which is so obviously what happened here.

It really is a bitter irony to see that even when the US renders aid in a bulk and at a speed Canada is utterly incapable of matching, that some dimwitted college professor in Canada finds fault with the US going to the aid of disaster victims--after first formulating the braindead notion that anybody in the US government "knew" the tsunamis would hit and *deliberately* chose not to inform the countries that were hit. What specious nonsense.

Frankly, I've pretty much had it with these airmchair US critics who just have no clue whatever, seemingly about anything, but like to procliam themselves as "experts" nonetheless. I just really don't care what they think or say anymore as they are consistently 180-degrees off the mark every time, seems to me.

How could it be that a so-called "expert" would not know that "fishermen in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand were not provided with the same warnings as the US Navy and the US State Department," becuase such independent fishermen aren't *linked into the US military's communications system* but operate within wholly different communications spheres--such as common, localized CB radio bands of extremely limited range, local languages and dialects, etc. Beats me.

I found this statement particularly damning as it came from this "expert," apparently:

...US scientists in Hawaii, had advanced knowledge regarding an impending catastrophe, but failed to contact their Asian counterparts. According to him, Charles McCreery of the Pacific Warning Centre in Hawaii confirmed that his team tried desperately to get in touch with his counterparts in Asia. According to McCreery, the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s centre in Honolulu, the team did its utmost to contact the countries.

Notice the contradiction? The "expert" flatly states that "US scientists in Hawaii had advanced knowledge regarding an impending catastrophe, but failed to contact their Asian counterparts." As if they simply chose to let the chips fall where they may--but then he takes it all back by saying, "Charles McCreery of the Pacific Warning Centre in Hawaii confirmed that his team tried desperately to get in touch with his counterparts in Asia. According to McCreery, the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s centre in Honolulu, the team did its utmost to contact the countries." Yes, there was indeed a failure to communicate, but it wasn't from any lack of trying on the part of the US scientists he talks about, was it?

How is it that an "expert" doesn't know that science today, even the most advanced science, is incapable of predicting either earthquakes or tsunamis? We simply don't know whether an earthquake at sea will automatically generate a tsunami that will devistate populated areas as this one did--let alone *which* populated areas may be hit and when. Any "expert" worth his reputation ought to know something like that second-hand. Obviously, this one didn't know much of anything about anything, really.

Last, of course, can we chalk this up to yet another case of US-envy on the part of some dimwitted Canadians? Maybe so, and maybe they were just a little miffed that the US had government assets in play that could render aid much faster than Canadians were able to reach the scene. How utterly pathetic and sad.

It is well known that I do not make mistakes--so if you should happen across a mistake in anything I have written, be assured that I did not write it!

We are in the UK Complicity so no worries there! They were totally nuts, and I work next to a psychiatric ward in a hospital so I can spot characters that don't light up the top of the Christmas tree a mile off. They terrorise their estate. Well, we are 4 hours drive away from them now, but still, it was remarkable and scary at the same time!

Though, I suspect the biggest problem keeping Blue from making what he really deserves off this site is something he has said before. He is not a business man, and does not want to deal with advertisers and such, or be responsible for the server it’s self (he has pretty much said that, am I not correct?). So, that means he contracts through UGO, which I am sure they take a fair chunk of the money.

In my opinion, not only does he not consider himself a business man, he considers acting as a business man as a 'conflict of interest' with his primary role of internet journalist. The same reason he so rarely gives personal game reviews prevents him from acting in a fashion that might seem like being a 'businessman'.

I feel wrong talking about Blue’s income without him even chiming in…even if it was to just tell us to mind our own business, I would feel better about that….it is odd!

Considering his hands off approach to moderating the forums I can't think this kind of discussion would offend him.

The last time Blue really addressed this issue was when the number of ads was increased and the intro ad was introduced. He stated that up to that point the site was running in the red for two years. I have no reason to doubt him on this. He mentioned that he was amazed at Steve over at Shacknews and his ability to be both a business man and relate to the common gamer. I took this to mean that he either could not or would not place himself in such a position. I think what could help him is a business manager like the one that helped the guys over at PA.

All of the longtimers here have asked, no begged, for things like polo shirts, coffee mugs, etc. I did a little bit of digging, did some job costing/estimating and discovered that unless he can get Mrs. Blue, Hudson and Gunnar to help with the shipping and handling it will be very difficult to make any serious money selling this stuff. Many of the places that do all the work for you (Cafe Press) also expect to take all of the profit.

Two Aircraft Carriers have been sent to the region. Why is it necessary for the US to mobilise so much military equipment?

Why? Because at this point it is not a matter of getting aid goods but of distributing them. Helicopters are a great way of distributing such goods, in fact Sri Lanka has been asking specifically for more helicopters as their fleet of rotary-wing aircraft is limited to four UH-1 Iroqouis. The USS Bon Homme Richard, one of the two carriers on station in the gulf of Thailand, is a Marine Support Carrier which in turn means it's aircraft are primarily rotary-wing (i.e. helicopters).

As to why Diego Garcia came out fine, perhaps Prof. Chossudvosky should seek out an oceanographer. My understanding is that Diego Garcia is actually the top of an undersea volcano located at the end of a long, deep trench which apparently absorbed the majority of the force of the tidal wave.

or he's got the same unnatural dislike for fruitcake type things that everyone seems to have in the US - but then I had tried some of the fruitcake you can buy here and I kind of understand why people pass them around year after year.

It's cake... with FRUIT in it? How can it possibly be good?

http://citizenb.com/ - Shameless website plug.Some men get the world. Others get ex-hookers and a trip to Arizona.

It's like a moister (and richer) fruitcake, served hot traditionally with Brandy butter and cream. I had an emergency care package from my parents in the UK containing one (strangely it's legal to ship home made ones to the US, but not store bought ones).

Either Blue had a nasty store bought one, or he's got the same unnatural dislike for fruitcake type things that everyone seems to have in the US - but then I had tried some of the fruitcake you can buy here and I kind of understand why people pass them around year after year.

Despite doing a round trip of 8 hours driving in one day to move her stuff, (including two hours in a police station explaining everything and writing a statement), and being in a car chase, I broke a lamp stand driving too fast that was 'special' and am in the dog house atm, lol!

Finished poring through the updates (but no post comments) since Dec 22nd (the missing day helped speed it); flew back from the in-laws yesterday afternoon, and they had 28.8 dialup. DIALUP. Ray, I feel for you (and any other dialuppers out there). I was just getting email, and it was SO painful. Happy belated holidays to all.

Also, a huzzah to the 2004 NFC North Division Champion Green Bay Packers. Though it looks like they'll have to beat the Vikings AGAIN.

So I drive for 4 hours yesterday to pick up my sister and move all her stuff to her new house. The prime reason of her moving was her insane neighbours who are a local menace (who have tried to run her over before now, and are no stranger to the cops). I finally drive off in the removal van (after they have been screaming abuse at my sister from thier windows as we pack the van) and to my utter amazement I see them in the review mirror, following us in their jeep! I never thought I'd ever be in an actual chase where you screech round corners and weave like a madman through traffic with loons on your tail, with madness written across their faces! The terrible Hollywood cliches didn't end there though! Oh no, my mobile really did stop working as soon as I tried to contact the cops! And when you reach the local police station and hammer on the bell, sometimes there really is no one there! Then you see a light come on, and, just like in the movies it does take forever for an officer to tuck his shirt into his gut and open the door as the bad guys get closer and closer.

Oh well, it's all in the hands of the law now, but it was too much like a bad episode of Magnum PI for my liking...

A Canadian expert has claimed that the US Military and the State Department were given advance tsunami warning and America’s Navy base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean was notified but the information was not passed on to the countries that bore the brunt of the disaster.

Prof. Michel Chossudovsky of the University of Ottawa asks in an analysis produced for the Venus Project why fishermen in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand were not provided with the same warnings as the US Navy and the US State Department. He wants to know why the US State Department remained mum on the existence of an impending catastrophe. With a modern communications system, why did the information not get out? By email, telephone, fax, satellite TV, he asks, as it could have saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people......

Prof. Chossudovsky writes, “In a bitter irony, part of this operation is being coordinated out of America’s Naval base in Diego Garcia, which was not struck by the tidal wave. Meanwhile, USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, which was in Hong Kong when the earthquake and tsunamis struck, has been diverted to the Gulf of Thailand to support recovery operations. Two Aircraft Carriers have been sent to the region. Why is it necessary for the US to mobilise so much military equipment? The pattern is unprecedented ... Why has a senior commander involved in the invasion of Iraq been assigned to lead the US emergency relief program?”

If Blue is getting 80,000 hits a day on a site run by 2-3 people should he be getting filthy stinking rich?

He SHOULD, but I doubt he is.

First, advertisement on the internet does not pay all that great, it did for a while, it paid to much actually and that is what helped lead to the “.com collapse”.Also, (if we got the numbers correct, they are kind of ambiguous) bandwidth for 80,000 people a day is NOT cheap.

Though, I suspect the biggest problem keeping Blue from making what he really deserves off this site is something he has said before. He is not a business man, and does not want to deal with advertisers and such, or be responsible for the server it’s self (he has pretty much said that, am I not correct?). So, that means he contracts through UGO, which I am sure they take a fair chunk of the money.

I feel wrong talking about Blue’s income without him even chiming in…even if it was to just tell us to mind our own business, I would feel better about that….it is odd!

Sorry if it offends you in any way Blue, but we love ya and just want the best for you!

_____Enahs That’s a deep kiss too, like the Europeans. You know the French they have to unhinge their jaw to show love.

If Blue is getting 80,000 hits a day on a site run by 2-3 people should he be getting filthy stinking rich? Blue should IPO, take the cash and give it to all us forum addicts, and while some corporate bastard destroys bluesnews, we go open another site called Sixis' News!